We report today the news released by NORDEN on the launch of a new Nordic cleantech incubator at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. The office, opened under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers, will provide a soft landing zone for Nordic cleantech companies that seek new business opportunities in the Emirates and the wider Gulf area.
The New Nordic incubator office will provide an attractive platform for Nordic cleantech businesses already based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as a good starting place for new companies, combining the strong brand values of Masdar City and the Nordic region.
Several Nordic companies have already expressed an interest in renting an office space in the incubator, and the ambition is to fill it quickly.
Together on a global market
Pointing out cleantech as one of the biggest strengths of the Nordic region, the President of Iceland, Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, hopes that as many companies as possible will see the benefits from utilising the incubator.
– I hope that the different companies in our respective countries will realise that this is not just an office in the normal sense. This is an opening of new possibilities, of a global transformation, which in my opinion has an enormous potential, said the President in his opening speech.
Abu Dhabi and the UAE have quickly emerged as a new global hotspot for renewable energy and clean technology. Masdar City, Abu Dhabi's low-carbon, sustainable urban development, is also the permanent home to the International Renewable Energy Agency(IRENA).
Nordic branding
The incubator office is a result of an initiative by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Business and is managed by Nordic Innovation, an institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers that works to promote trade and innovation across the Nordic borders.
The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Mr. Dagfinn Høybråten, welcomes this new Nordic venture.
– We are happy to see more Nordic cooperation in the UAE and look forward to the important work now starting out in this economic hotspot. Nordic cooperation has a strong focus on green growth, so the new platform for clean tech solutions is an exciting addition to this effort. Furthermore, a new Nordic branding strategy is underway and this is an area where the Nordic countries really have a lot to offer the world, Mr. Høybråten said in a statement.
Just common sense
To establish a joint Nordic platform that the new incubator office represents is the only sensible thing to do, according to the Icelandic President.
– To some extent, the Nordic countries are a kind of a Silicon Valley of renewable energy, because what we have done each of us this area is a formidable combination when you put all of it together. By opening the office here, we are utilising the strength of the combined Nordic achievements in this area, the President summed up at the opening event.
Source: NORDEN. Read more here.